After the assassination attempt and Marcus playing hero with his bleeding hand, the whole cooperation meeting went to shit faster than a body in acid. Nobody was in the mood to discuss business partnerships when there was still blood on the garden stones, and Celia looked like she'd seen a ghost… or pretended to. Vincent had seen her recover and knew what she was thinking.
Vincent could practically see the gears turning in Celia's head and the heads of her allies. They were all reassessing him now, realizing that the arrogant hothead they thought they knew had somehow transformed into something far more dangerous.
Well. Let them sweat.
Both parties agreed to reschedule, treating this god-knows-what as an "informal gathering." Various groups formed around the tea house gardens, making small talk and pretending they hadn't just witnessed a man's elbow bend in ways nature never intended.
